In a bid to improve their playoffs chances Chennai Super Kings (CSK) take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) as Ravindra Jadeja-led side won the toss and opted to bowl first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at Wankhede Stadium on Monday (April 25).
As far as playing XIs are concerned, CSK made no change to their side while PBKS brought Rajapaksa, Sandeep and Rishi Dhawan for Shahrukh, Ellis and Arora. Rishi was the captain of the Himachal Pradesh who went on to win the 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
"We will bowl first. We don't know if dew will come or not. Hope that dew comes in the second half. We'll look to keep things simple, we will stick to our plans, don't want to try too many things. Sometimes you lose the toss and things don't go well for us. Sometimes you might not bat or bowl well. We are going with the same team," CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja said before the match.
"I don't really have a choice, I have lost six out of seven tosses. We don't mind having a bat first. We don't want to dwell too much about the last game, we want to move on. Thinking as a seven game tournament, it's a fresh start for us. Everyone knows what needs to be done, it's just about executing our plans. We have made three changes. Shahrukh, Ellis and Arora are out. Rajapaksa, Sandeep and Rishi Dhawan come in," PBKS captain Mayank Agarwal said.
Meanwhile, CSK have been dealt another major injury blow after allrounder Moeen Ali hurt his ankle during a training session. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the franchise is waiting for scan results after he picked up the injury ahead of the PBKS clash.
Head to head
Chennai Super Kings have an advantage over Punjab Kings when it comes to the head-to-head record between the two teams. CSK have 15 wins compared to Punjab Kings' 11 victories in 26 meetings between the two teams in IPL over the years.
Pitch report
"This pitch has been used before, KL got a hundred batting on this wicket yesterday, but other batters struggled. It's a hard wicket, but the slower deliveries will grip a bit. The surface has good bounce and batting first would be a good choice, a total of 170-180 will be a good total here," reckons Graeme Swann.
Chennai Super Kings Playing XI:
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Mitchell Santner, Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo, Mukesh Choudhary, Maheesh Theekshana.
Punjab Kings Playing XI:
Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh.
